Page 9 - Armstrong Bloodline - ebook_Neat

Chapter 2

Historical Facts, Fiction and Folklore

Most people in English speaking nations are familiar with the surname Armstrong, and foreign language
variations such as Fortenbra in French and Fortebraccio in Italian are also not altogether uncommon. In a
forgotten text during my undergraduate days at the University of Minnesota, I came across a reference to an
Armstrong, known as Fortebraccio, who was a mercenary in Florence in the service of the Medici. It went on
to relate that a street had been named in his honor that supposedly exists to this day. Where, however, did
the Armstrongs come from? What is their history and where is their homeland?

Although there is more than one story about the origins of the Armstrongs, perhaps the most widely known
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is the saga of Siward, The Viking, also known as Siward Fairbairn of the Strong Arm . Siward was the son of a
Danish King and lived in England from about 995 till his death in 1056. In those days, the ruler of any small
territory was a king, so exactly where his father, Hringo, King of Upland, also known as Earl Beorn, would fall
on the yardstick of earthly royalty is not clear; however, at the very least, he would be considered of noble
birth.

Whether Siward was born in England is also not known for certain. However, he is said to be the first to
carry the name of Armstrong and was listed in the History of England as having earned the right to the title
of Earl of Northumbria (Northumberland) having been conferred the title by Edward the Confessor.

An interesting story apparently involves Siward the White Fairbeorn during a battle against England. During
this battle, King Malcolm's horse was killed under him partially crippling him and young Siward fought his
way to the King's side. Passing his left arm around the King's body under his arms, he reportedly fought his
way with a great Sword through the enemy to a place of safety. For his courageous act he was knighted by
the King, given land and a castle on the Scottish border, and from that time on was referred to as the Sword
of the Strong Arm (or Armstrong). This was how he and his descendants came to inherit the lands of
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Mangerton in Liddesdale .
These lands, known as the Debateable Land, were disputed for centuries by both Scotland and England. As
time went on they were protected by neither nation and, as the Armstrongs were of both Anglo and Danish
descent, they were entirely different from the Celtic Clans of Northern Scotland. As a result of blood ties and
loyalties not unlike those of the Mafia in Sicily some centuries later, these Clans avenged blood for blood for

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